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To: Asymmetric who wrote (212467)	7/25/2009 11:20:38 AM
From: Asymmetric	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 306849

'Clunkers' Draws Customers to Car Dealers . By JOSH MITCHELL and NEAL E. BOUDETTE / WSJ / July 25, 2009 Auto dealers said they saw a surge in showroom traffic and an uptick in sales Friday, the first day of the federal government's "cash for clunkers" program, which offers incentives for trading in old cars for more fuel-efficient ones. The program -- officially called CARS, for Car Allowance Rebate System -- provides up to $4,500 for a traded-in vehicle. It is aimed at lifting sales for the beleaguered auto industry and taking gas-guzzlers off the road. The launch ran into at least one hitch as some dealers found they were unable to register for the rebates on the Web site set up by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "If we can't register, we'll have to stop doing deals," said Frank Ursomarso Sr., president of Union Park Automotive Group Inc., which owns several dealerships in the Wilmington, Del., area. Mr. Ursomarso said he agreed to four clunker deals on Friday despite not yet being registered for the program. More * Read the government's 136-page rules for the "cash for clunkers" program. An NHTSA spokesman said registrations have been slowed but are continuing. "The system hasn't crashed. We're simply dealing with a computer system that's at capacity," he said. The Web site -- cars.gov -- began accepting dealer registrations at 7 a.m. Friday morning. "Once we get some people signed up and the rush slows, we'll be fine," the spokesman added. Meanwhile, many dealers reported heavier-than-expected showroom traffic and said they are completing sales. "Customers are coming and we are already doing a good number of clunker deals," said Marc Cannon, a spokesman for AutoNation Inc., the country's largest chain of car dealerships. The rebate, he said, "is bringing in traffic, no doubt about it." In Houston, Alan Helfman, owner of River Oaks Chrysler Jeep, said he, too, is seeing heavy traffic and increased sales. Chrysler Group LLC has offered to double clunker rebates for which customers qualify. "This thing is great, man," Mr. Helfman said. "People are coming in like you wouldn't believe." The clunkers bill was signed into law last month, but the government didn't make vouchers available until Friday, after NHTSA issued final regulations. Among the regulations were rules on how the traded-in vehicles must be dismantled, so the don't end up back on the market. The program is funded with $1 billion and lasts through Nov. 1. NHTSA spokeswoman Ellen Martin said the agency will spend the weekend certifying dealers to participate. Some aren't expected to begin issuing vouchers to customers until next week, she said. To qualify, purchasers must turn in a car or light truck that gets no more than 18 miles per gallon, and buy or lease a vehicle that gets at least 22 mpg. The mileage standards refer to a model's combined city-highway mpg as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The vehicle also must be less than 25 years old.